Liverpool FC win battle to trademark the Liver Bird

Liverpool FC have successfully won their bid to trademark the Liver Bird.

Two years ago the club incurred the wrath of Liverpool City Council after they attempted to copyright the mythical bird, which is also a recognised symbol of the city itself, but have since reached reached an agreement.

The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union granted the Reds the rights to the symbol in July following their application in January.

Both the club and the city council insist that the measure was taken to clamp down on counterfeit merchandise and that the council can act as 'guardians' of the Liver Bird for local businesses and charities.

Joe Anderson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: "The club’s aim is to stop counterfeiters from cashing in by using the badge on pirated goods and they do not want to stop the logo being used legitimately.

“We are happy to help them in these aims and the agreement we reached means the club can protect its Liver Bird logo, other organisations can continue to use the Liver Bird and the council will be able to protect its design of the image.

“The Liver Bird belongs to the people of Liverpool and the council is committed to doing all it can to make sure it remains that way.”

A club spokesman added: “Our position was always to solely seek to protect our specific version of the Liver Bird to stop its use in counterfeit Liverpool FC merchandise.

“We never intended to challenge the usage by the council or other charity or community groups of their version of the Liver Bird, and were delighted to work with the local authority on this matter.”